Inevitable
by Salintha
Summary: After returning from the Apocalypse world, most things seem to be relatively okay. However, when Charlie mentions what the alternative Castiel did to her, some of the survivors make it their personal mission to deal with the other Castiel. Just because the angel hasn't done anything to harm them yet doesn't mean he won't. Actually, it's pretty much inevitable. Post s!whump
1. Chapter 1

Castiel was unsure of what to do with himself.

After they'd successfully transported the survivors of the apocalypse world to their own, Castiel had felt a little redundant. He'd tried talking with Jack, seeing as he looked more than a little upset about what had happened (even if Castiel didn't approve of Jack talking with Lucifer, and was definitely glad that the archangel was trapped in the other universe – not that Castiel would ever say that to Jack), but the Nephilim didn't want to talk about it. In fact, he didn't want to talk to Castiel at all, and the angel would be lying if he said that hadn't hurt, but he also knew that Jack just needed some time to get over it, so Castiel had let him be.

Castiel had tried giving Sam, Dean, and the others a hand with preparing beds for everyone, but once he realized that they were doing find on their own, he disappeared in the library as inconspicuously as he could manage. He knew it was a little selfish, but Castiel just couldn't face the suspicious, and sometimes outright hostile, looks some of the people were giving him. He understood their reasoning – he was an angel, after all. They had a very, very bad experience with his kind – hell, they had a bad experience with the alternative him.

That didn't make seeing those looks be directed at him any easier to bear. It also didn't help that Dean wasted no time offering Castiel's room to someone else. Okay, being bothered by that was outright irrational because he didn't need a room, much less sleep. These people were human and exhausted – they definitely needed every available bed, but…

Castiel shook his head as he continued flipping through the book he'd found that he'd thought could shine some light on how to go about defeating the alternative Michael. Deep down, Castiel somehow knew that there wouldn't be any useful information in it, or in any of the other books, but he had to try at least. If only to keep himself busy and away from being bored.

The next step would be looking through the various weapons the bunker had to offer, as per Sam's suggestion, but for now Castiel would stay in the library. Ever since they'd come back, there had been noise everywhere, and the amount of new people in a place the angel was so used to being mostly empty was making Castiel feel a bit claustrophobic.

The library had neither the noises, nor anyone else except for Castiel, so even if this endeavor turned out to be less than fruitful, Castiel could at least try to organize his thoughts.

First there was another death of Gabriel to think about. For some reason, this one felt final, and Castiel wasn't sure how to feel about it. He and Gabriel didn't exactly know each other well, far from it in fact. His death hit Castiel anyway, though, more than he'd expected. Maybe it was the fact that there was one less member of his species, one that could potentially help keep Heaven running.

Castiel also kept thinking about his alternative self. To think that the only thing that had kept him from becoming a monster were Dean and Sam…well, that was a rather scary thought. There was no doubt in Castiel's mind that this other version of him had been twisted by Naomi's brainwashing, and Heaven's reeducation. And his wings… If Castiel had thought his own wings were revolting, he wasn't sure what to call the two broken bones sticking out of his alternative self's back.

Castiel tried not to think about the similarities between them too much, but he just couldn't help but wonder if one day he would stop seeing torture as a sometimes necessary interrogation method and instead as more of a pastime. He certainly hoped that would never happen, but he also didn't feel like repeating what he'd done not even a day ago just in case.

He clearly had the potential to enjoy causing pain, and he'd already caused far too much of it.

Castiel sighed and forced himself to focus on the book again. It was going to be a long night.

To his utter surprise, at around 2 AM he was interrupted by two of the men they'd brought here. Castiel had been so lost in reading about angelic possession and correcting the many mistakes that were written about the topic, that he only noticed someone else was in the room when a hand slammed down on the table a few inches away from the book.

Castiel flinched a little in shock, and looked up, seeing a rather angry bald man glaring at him, and another one, a bit younger, behind the first one.

"Yes?" Castiel asked awkwardly, but also with a hint of annoyance, having no idea what else to say.

"You're Castiel?" the bald one asked, towering over the angel, who got up to level out the height difference a little. Unfortunately, both of the men were taller than him.

"Yes, I'm Castiel. Who are you?"

"The name's Brian," the bald man said, and then pointed behind him at the other one with his thumb, "that's Jeremy. And we'll be keeping a close eye on you, angel."

Castiel bristled at the condescending tone, and glared at the man. "May I ask why, exactly?" He knew these people didn't like him because he was an angel, but he hadn't expected them to be so direct with it.

"Charlie told us about you," Brian said, and then huffed out a humorless laugh. "Well, the other you, but far as I can tell, the only difference between our worlds is that here the Apocalypse didn't happen, so how different can you possibly be from _him_?"

While that was a question Castiel was trying to answer for himself, he wasn't about to agree with this man, who had just pretty much threatened him. "Well, for one, I don't have a strange accent."

"You think you're funny, don't you?" Jeremy said, advancing on Castiel, who didn't move an inch. "How do we know you're not just pretending you're this other Castiel? There was no one else that saw you kill the other you, was there?"

Was the man really suggesting that he was actually the alternative Castiel pretending to be the normal Castiel? "If that were true, why would I still be here?" Castiel made sure to convey how stupid Jeremy was being with his tone of voice.

"To gain our trust, maybe? To figure out who has the most intel, so you can kidnap and interrogate them, and then run back to Michael?" Brian continued, now standing directly in front of Castiel, who had to fight the urge not to take a step back. He wouldn't show weakness to these two humans.

"I assure you, I have no such intentions. Now, if you could kindly leave me be, so I can continue searching for a way to kill Michael and save your world…"

His only answer were Brian's hands fisting themselves in Castiel's trench coat, and pushing him to the table. Castiel glared at the man, gripping his forearms with the intention to shoving Brian away, but Jeremy's voice stopped him.

"Yeah, go on, hurt him. That's a good start to showing us what a good angel you are." Castiel wanted to snap back that what he had just said was ridiculous and hypocritical, but he found himself letting go of Brian's arms anyway. Seemingly pleased with this, Brian pushed Castiel back, making him lie down on the table.

"I…I won't hurt any of your people," said Castiel as Brian's hand enveloped his neck, and the angel let it, only grabbing at the hand, but not actually pulling it away.

"Yeah, you say that now," Jeremy said, folding his arms. "What about the last guy you tortured?"

How did they know about that? "It was necessary to find Charlie and Ketch," Castiel tried to defend himself.

"You sure didn't look too torn up about it, though," Brian commented. "Almost like you didn't mind torturing someone."

The grip on Castiel's throat tightened enough to make him choke, but a few seconds later he was released. He quickly stood up, taking a few steps back away from the two men.

"Stay away from our people, especially Charlie, got it?"

Castiel glared at Brian, but then gave a curt nod, and apparently satisfied, the two men left the library. Castiel rubbed his throat, wondering why he let them push him around like that. Trying not to hurt them was one thing, letting them strangle him on a table was another, so why had he acted like that?

With his mind full of new, unpleasant thoughts, Castiel sat down in front of the book again, and tried focusing on that instead while the threats echoed in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

The following days didn't get much better. He'd gone through every single relevant book in the library, and, as expected, came up with nothing, and during the entire time, he'd barely spoken with anyone. Castiel didn't like how much that affected his mood, but there wasn't much to be done about it.

Sam and Dean were too busy between going through the bunker's vast collection of artefacts and taking care of everyone. There was barely a moment when they weren't in proximity of the people from the other universe, so Castiel had stopped trying to find an opportunity to speak with them, especially since he had nothing useful to add.

Walking out of the library, Castiel's eyes scanned the war room almost against his will, quickly spotting Dean, who was talking with Charlie, looking relatively happy for once. Although, that wasn't too surprising. Castiel knew Dean loved Charlie like a sister, and he'd missed her a lot. This might not have been the Charlie he'd known exactly, but it was close enough.

Castiel wanted to join the conversation, but he knew he'd just make things awkward and unpleasant, and he couldn't do that to Dean. There was no way Charlie wanted to him anywhere close to her.

The angel ducked his gaze when he noticed Brian watching him, and as quickly as he could without actually running, he made his way to where the artifacts were. There were many rooms filled with them, but Castiel remembered one in particular which contained various tools and weapons usable against angels, so that was his best bet. Not that he wanted to be in a room filled with things that could hurt or even kill him, but it wasn't like he had a choice.

As soon as he stepped inside, he twitched as the power of the sigils painted all over the walls washed over him. Most weren't meant for angels, but some were and that was enough. Castiel wasn't even sure why they were there, but as long as the door stayed open, it wasn't that much of a problem.

The angel let out a tired sigh and started going through the various artefacts, trying to work as fast as possible because some of the items in the room were making him more than a little nervous. Particularly the metal muzzle that he supposed was meant to keep an angel both quiet and unable to leave its vessel, or the set of restrains mounted on a wall, clearly meant for manifested wings, that would keep them spread, immobilized, and vulnerable.

A few minutes later, though, Jeremy showed up, leaning on the doorframe, and Castiel glared at him.

"Pretty nice arsenal against angels, huh?"

"I've done as you asked and stayed away from your people. Now let me work," Castiel snapped at him, looking at the collection of swords again.

"Can't do that," Jeremy said, strolling into the room, and picking up a pair of Enochian handcuffs lazily. Castiel gave the man a challenging look, daring him to try and put those on the angel. "How can we be sure you're not just looking for weapons that can be used against Michael, so you can hide them from us?"

"I am not working for Michael," Castiel growled, watching with slight apprehension as Jeremy ran his fingers over the muzzle.

"If you were, you'd say the same thing, so that doesn't really convince me, y'know?" Jeremy replied, pocketing the handcuffs and folding his arms over his chest. "But don't worry, I'm not like you. I'm not going to torture you just to make sure you're telling the truth."

Castiel suppressed a wince at that. He knew Jeremy was saying this only to get to him, but it still hurt to hear.

"But I am going to do this," Jeremy said, and ran out of the room, slamming the door shut before Castiel could stop him, and locking it. The angel's eyes widened as he felt his grace lock down almost completely, and he quickly ran to the door, trying to force it open, but he wasn't strong enough like this. Maybe even at full power he wouldn't be strong enough.

He'd been so stupid. Why had he left his key in the lock?

"Now you can work with no distractions," Jeremy's muffled voice said mockingly from behind the door. "I'll let you out in a few hours, and I'll make sure you're not trying to take anything with you."

Castiel punched the door angrily, immediately regretting it as pain shot through his hand. He didn't want to spend a few hours locked in a room full of things that could kill him while depowered like this, but not only he wasn't willing to lower himself enough to ask, or even beg, Jeremy to open the door, the man was definitely already gone.

Castiel glared at the door, and then at the sigils when he got an idea. He could just scratch them with one of the weapon lying around here, or even use his angel blade, and if that didn't help him get out of this room, at least he would feel less powerless.

He grabbed the nearest blade, which was a bronze dagger, and without further ado started to scratch at the nearest sigil on the wall next to him. Castiel frowned when it seemed to have no effect at all, and applied more force, however that didn't do anything either.

Then suddenly Castiel cried out as the dagger turned red hot and burned his hand. He let the weapon fall to the ground with a loud clang, staring at the angry red mark it had left on the palm of his hand, which he couldn't even heal now.

He wondered if this had happened because of the dagger or the sigil, but he wasn't willing to try again any time soon with a different weapon.

It suddenly came crashing down on Castiel that he was powerless and trapped, and he hated feeling that. He shouldn't feel like that in the bunker. This was the closest place to a home he had left, and he didn't even feel welcome here anymore.

Castiel quickly reached into the pockets of his trench coat, pulling out his phone, and praying that he would get a signal here. He breathed out when he saw that he indeed was getting a signal, although it was very weak. He quickly typed out a message to Dean, asking him to come open the door.

Once he sent it, Castiel realized a problem with this, however. He didn't want Dean or Sam to involve themselves in this…whatever Brian and Jeremy thought they were doing – the brothers had enough to deal with already.

Thankfully, he came up with a somewhat believable lie just as he heard the door being unlocked. However, he was taken aback when instead of Dean, it was Sam who opened the door.

"You okay, Cas? What happened?" he asked, clearly noticing how nervous Castiel had become in just a few minutes of being locked up here. He quickly healed his hand to avoid that question, and smiled at Sam slightly.

"Yes, I'm alright, thank you, Sam," the angel said, his smile becoming slightly less convincing. "I seemed to have triggered some sort of a trap when I went inside, and the door locked on its own."

"Huh," Sam replied, looking like he did believe Castiel, but also found it surprising. "I mean, I've been here a few times, and that sure didn't happen to me, but maybe it's 'cause you're an angel?"

Sam patted Castiel's shoulder. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll go through this stuff later. You should get some rest, you've been working for days."

"I won't rest until we find something to use against Michael," Castiel said firmly, and Sam frowned a little, taking his hand off the angel's shoulder. Castiel sighed tiredly. Even if he wanted to rest, he had no place to do so now. His-the guest room was currently in use by someone else, and he couldn't approach most of the main rooms of the bunker because he'd be going against what Brian and Jeremy had told him.

But it seemed it didn't really matter – even when he stayed away from everyone, they refused to leave him alone. And the only way to move forward was looking through these artifacts. However, the notion of being trapped again was so unappealing that the angel just wanted to get away from this part of the bunker.

"C'mon, Cas, you need to relax. You can go to my room and watch Netflix for a bit," Sam suggested, looking kindly at the angel, who nodded after a moment. He wasn't strong enough to resist such an offer.

Castiel followed Sam to his room, avoiding making eye contact with any of the people they passed as much as he could and only relaxed when they reached the right door and walked in. Castiel smiled slightly at the familiarity of the room, immediately feeling a little more at home again.

"Right. The TV remote is on the bedside table. You know how this works, right?"

Castiel smiled at Sam. "Yes. Thank you, Sam."

"Sure thing," the taller man grinned back, patting Castiel on the back, and then walked out of his room, waving at the angel before closing the door. Castiel let out a long breath, and took off his coat before lying down on the bed with a content sigh.

On one hand, this was pretty selfish of him, because it helped no one but him, but on the other, it seemed Sam had been right – Castiel needed to relax for a moment, and this was the perfect way to do it. He closed his eyes, intending to rest them for a few minutes and instead ending up falling asleep.

However, his sleep didn't last long because about twenty minutes later, he was woken up by someone dragging him off the bed and pushing up against the wall. He automatically pushed the person away, blinking as he tried to get over his sleep-induced confusion.

Castiel groaned in annoyance and exhaustion as he finally realized that he was face to face with Brian and Jeremy again. He let them push him back into the wall, grimacing as the back of his head collided with it.

"What do you want from me?" he asked tiredly.

"How did you get out of that room?" Jeremy snarled, tightening his grip on Castiel's arm.

"I sent a text to Sam, and he let me out," Castiel replied passively. The two men exchanged a look between each other before looking back at Castiel.

"Did you tell him?" Brian didn't need to specify what he was talking about.

"No. And you should be grateful for that. The Winchesters don't take kindly to those who threaten their family." Even to him that sentence didn't sound convincing, and he curled into himself slightly when the two started to laugh at the angel.

"Jesus, an angel that thinks two humans are its family. That's rich," Jeremy said, pretending to wipe away tears of laughter. "Then if you're so sure about that, why haven't you said anything, yet?"

Castiel scowled. "They have enough to deal with already."

"Mm-hm," hummed Brian sarcastically. "Or maybe it's because you know deep down that you deserve this and much worse. I mean, I'm no psychologist, but you're way stronger than us, and still you let us do this, so…"

Castiel flinched, shaking his head, despite agreeing with what Brian had said. He did think he deserved everything they threw at him. He might not be as far as his alternative self had been, but he still had the potential for such evil. He had caused so much pain and suffering already…

"Search the coat," Brian told Jeremy, who let go of Castiel's arm, but Brian quickly gripped it instead. Castiel squirmed as Brian went through the pockets of his suit jacket and pants while Jeremy did the same with his coat.

"You're not going to find anything," Castiel said, but he was firmly ignored. Once Brian was done with his search, having indeed found nothing, he turned to Jeremy who was now holding Castiel's bunker key and phone. Castiel's heart sank at the sight.

"This the key to this bunker?" asked Jeremy, looking pleased at Castiel look of badly hidden panic.

"Yes. Please, don't take it," Castiel said, ducking his head in shame. He knew it was silly because if he knocked Sam or Dean would open the door, but that key was pretty much the only symbol that showed he could come to the bunker. That he could stay with Sam and Dean.

"What? Afraid the Winchesters won't let you back in if you leave?" Jeremy mocked him, pocketing the key and the phone. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of it."

With a laugh, Jeremy left, however Brian stayed where he was, still holding Castiel up against the wall.

"Now, listen here, angel. You don't need to sleep or rest, so you don't get to sleep or rest. You said you wanted to help our universe, but actions speak louder than words. If you don't start pulling your weight, you might as well leave. I know a lot of us would sleep easier without you here."

Brian let go of Castiel and turned around, leaving, while Castiel remained standing in front of the wall, feeling even worse than when trapped in the room downstairs.


	3. Chapter 3

After that Castiel did his best to focus on nothing but his search for anything that could help them. That didn't mean the two humans left him alone, though. They hadn't locked him in a room again yet, although every time Castiel entered one, he made sure to keep the door open and look outside at least twice per minute.

However, they took a different approach now. A very annoying one. One of their favorite things to do was blocking the angel's way – preferably from both sides – while insinuating that it would be best for everyone if Castiel just left. They'd even managed to trip him once, which made the angel angry enough that he'd almost smote the two. The fact alone made Castiel feel even worse about himself.

But despite all of this, Castiel had no intention of leaving, if only to spite Brian and Jeremy. Besides, the few times he'd spoken with Sam over the last few days always had made him feel assured that he wasn't in the way, and that Sam was glad he was there, so Castiel would stay.

He did miss talking to Dean, though, so when Castiel walked past the kitchen and noticed there was no one else but the hunter there, drinking beer and looking deep in thought, Castiel automatically went in. Only after Dean noticed him did Castiel realize it might have been a bit rude to intrude, but Dean's smile made him stop worrying about it.

"Hey, Cas."

"Hello, Dean," the angel replied, a small smile tugging on his lips, his heart immediately feeling lighter.

"You want a beer?" Dean asked almost immediately, already getting up and heading towards the fridge. Castiel let out a fond sigh and sat down opposite Dean, thanking him for the beer when it was put in front of him. It wouldn't do anything for him, but it was the thought that counted.

"So, how you been, man? I haven't seen you in _days_ ," Dean said, taking a swig of his beer, Castiel doing the same, however with much less enthusiasm. "You're not avoiding me, are you?"

Castiel knew Dean was joking, but it still made him a little sad regardless. He wasn't avoiding Dean, but excluding Sam, Jack, and Mary, Castiel was avoiding everyone else. And since there usually were other people around the fours (well, three, because Jack was avoiding Castiel), he had to avoid everyone.

"Seriously, you doing okay, Cas?" Dean asked, frowning with concern.

"I…" For a moment Castiel thought about whether or not he should tell Dean about his alternative self, or what had been going on since they'd gotten back, but then decided against it. Dean had enough problems without Castiel adding his own to the pile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just tired."

Dean grimaced a little, and tried to hide it by drinking some more beer. "Hey, Cas, y-you know when we gave someone else your room, it was nothing personal, right?"

Castiel blinked, surprised that Dean was bringing it up, but definitely touched that the hunter realized it might be bothering the angel.

"We just don't have enough-"

"Enough beds," Castiel finished, smiling at him, although he couldn't quite keep the sadness from his eyes. "I know, Dean, it's okay. I understand."

"Okay," Dean nodded. "Just wanted to make sure you didn't feel like we were pushing you away or somethin'. God knows we've done enough of that shit."

Castiel raised an eyebrow, his smile widening. "How many beers have you had?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're hilarious," Dean said, feigning annoyance but unable to keep the grin off his face. "Alright, chick flick moment over. I need to talk to Sam."

Castiel nodded, still smiling. He wasn't sure if the brothers had spoken about Sam's, albeit temporary, death at the hands of rabid vampires, but if they hadn't, they most definitely should. Castiel watched Dean leave, and then spent a few second staring at his beer, debating whether or not he should finish it. He decided to do so, if only not to seem rude, but of course the quiet moment was over just a few minutes later when Brian appeared and started glowering at the angel.

Castiel only gave him an annoyed look and continued drinking his beer.

"Slacking off again, huh?" Brian said, the threat in his voice barely hidden now. "I think I told you something about that."

Castiel slammed the beer bottle on the table – surprisingly it didn't break – and got up, glaring at the man with all his might.

"Yeah, you said that if I 'didn't pull my weight'," Castiel said, putting the words in air quotes, "then I should leave. Well, I'm not going to. You know why?" Castiel advanced on Brian, both satisfied and unnerved when he saw the man take a step back. "Because Sam and Dean want me here. And I'm not leaving until that changes."

He hoped that never happened, but he would have to accept it as a possibility.

Brian narrowed his eyes, but then without a word turned around and left, leaving Castiel once again alone in the kitchen. The angel couldn't believe that had worked, but he decided not to question it He sat down again, finishing his beer and thinking about what to do next.

He spent the rest of the day going through the Men of Letters' files. There were an astounding number of them so it was not at all surprising that he didn't even realize it was midnight already. And he certainly didn't have the time to think about that when something hard collided with the back of his head and made him fall to his knees, feeling completely disoriented.

Before he could figure out what was going on, his hands had already been cuffed and his grace had been rendered useless. Castiel stared at Brian and Jeremy in shocked that they'd actually done this, but he did know that if there was a time he was willing to tell about this to Sam or Dean, it was now. However, before he could try and call out for help, Brian put his hand over the angel's mouth and held his head still as Jeremy tied a blindfold over his eyes.

Castiel let out a muffled cry of protest, trying to shake the hand off his mouth while also trying to push Brian away, but it was useless. With those handcuffs, Brian was stronger than him, not to mention Jeremy was just behind him.

"Shut up, halo," said Jeremy as Brian took the hand off Castiel's mouth. Before Castiel could say anything, a fist slammed into his abdomen, making Castiel gasp in pain, which one of the two men used to shove a large piece of wadded up cloth into his mouth, which was then secured by a strip of another cloth which was tied around his head tightly, pulling at the corners of Castiel's mouth painfully.

Now, rendered blind, mute, and powerless, Castiel was pulled up to his feet by the chain connecting the cuffs, and one of them started dragging the angel out of the room. Castiel tried to resist the pull, but he only managed to almost fall down, much to the delight of Jeremy who laughed.

Castiel made a questioning noise behind the gag, hoping that they would at least explain what they were planning on doing with him. Neither of them told him anything. They didn't say anything at all until they'd dragged him out of the bunker, which Castiel recognized only by the cold night air suddenly blowing in his face.

He flinched when he heard the bunker door close, sealing him away from any potential help. Castiel was dragged a little further, about five minutes or so, although with his grace on lockdown, he'd lost his internal compass, and then suddenly they stopped.

"We're not going to hurt you," Brian began, only to be interrupted by Jeremy.

"You mean more than we already did, right?"

Brian let out an annoyed sigh. "Anyway, since you're so convinced that you're wanted in that bunker, we decided to take matters into our own hands."

Oh. So they were making him leave by force. That still didn't explain how they were planning on keeping him from coming back. He didn't have a key, but surely Dean or Sam would open the door if he knocked. Apparently, Brian thought that was enough of an explanation and started dragging the angel away.

It wasn't the easiest task, stumbling through a forest, unable to see roots and rocks, and Jeremy seemed to realize this as well because about fifteen minutes into the walk, he gripped the angel's elbow and pulled him to the right, which resulted in Castiel tripping over something on the forest floor and falling down, while Jeremy laughed at him.

Castiel was pulled up, groaning as the cuffs cut into his skin, and he continued being dragged away while Brian scolded Jeremy.

"C'mon, man, leave him alone. We're not bullies."

Castiel begged to differ, but he couldn't state his opinion right now.

"Yeah, yeah, but it's funny," Jeremy replied, and Brian huffed.

"Yeah, okay, it is pretty funny, but still…"

"Just one more."

"…Fine."

Castiel expected to fall down within a few second, but he didn't. A minute passed, then ten, then an hour. Castiel wondered just how far into the forest they were trying to take him. They kept changing directions, although that would change nothing about his ability to find his way back home. And he would go back to the bunker as soon as he could, this changed nothing.

"This is far enough, don't you think?" asked Jeremy, and Brian agreed. And then suddenly Castiel was on the ground again as he tripped over Jeremy's foot.

"Why is this so funny?" Jeremy asked no one as he and Brian pulled Castiel to a thick tree trunk, and started wrapping a strong chain around him, binding Castiel to the tree. The angel wriggled as the chain bound his arms to his chest, and made him more or less immobile. Once the locked the chain together with a padlock, they moved on to Castiel's hands.

The angel thought it was a bit of an overkill since there was no way he could break metal with those handcuffs, but then they were taken off.

Castiel froze in surprise, not understanding at all as they finished wrapping his wrists in chains and locking a padlock there as well.

"Take this as a warning, Castiel. Come back to the bunker, and we promise you'll regret it," Jeremy said, gripping Castiel's hair, jerking his head to the side, and running an angel blade down the angel's neck.

Castiel shuddered slightly at the cold touch of the weapon, relieved when it left his neck. He listened to the two men leaving as he started fighting against the chains. He could break them now, he was sure of it, but it would take him a while to do so, which he supposed was what Jeremy and Brian had intended.

But he wouldn't stay away from the bunker because of this. He would show them that he wasn't afraid of their threats.


	4. Chapter 4

It took him longer than he'd expected to break the chains. Long enough, in fact, that when Castiel finally freed himself and ripped off the blindfold and got rid of the gag, three hours had gone by. With an angry, and also tired, huff, Castiel got up, healing the wounds on his wrists he'd caused by ripping apart the chain binding his hands, and, knowing that the bunker was southeast of where he was, Castiel started walking back.

Jeremy and Brian had the sigiled handcuffs, which meant that they had a way of making the angel powerless, and since Castiel didn't want to fight them and risk hurting or even killing them, he would have to tell Sam or Dean, or both of them, not matter how much the angel didn't want to.

He wouldn't be able to watch his back all the time, and frankly, he didn't want to. The bunker should be a place of refuge for him, not a place where he should be expecting to be attacked any second.

Once he reached the bunker, though, he encountered a problem he hadn't really thought about. When he knocked, the person opening the door was Brian. Castiel just stared at him for a moment before materializing his angel blade, though it most likely had no effect on the man.

If Castiel had been willing to fight him, he would have done it by now.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Brian said, opening the door a little more. Castiel should have waited until at least sunrise before knocking as there would be more people awake to witness this, but he'd been so angry that he hadn't thought about it at all.

"This is my home. I won't let you force me out of it," Castiel growled, tightening his grip on the handle of his blade.

"Fine."

And before Castiel could try to push Brian out of the way, he felt the press of an angel blade on the skin of his throat. Castiel froze, gritting his teeth as the blade made a slight cut, letting blood and grace escape the wound.

"Drop the sword," said Jeremy from behind him, and Castiel did, closing his eyes in defeat. He hadn't thought they'd wait for him to ambush him in case he returned, but he supposed he should have known better. It did make him wonder where Jeremy had been hiding, though.

Castiel watched sadly as Brian took his blade, and then winced as the cut on his throat got a little deeper. He didn't fight when his hands were handcuffed once more.

"Since you want to stay in the bunker so badly," said Jeremy into the angel's ear mockingly, "we decided to let you do just that. Forever."

Castiel flinched in fear as Jeremy waved the metal muzzle he'd seen in the room they'd locked him in with his free hand in front of Castiel's face. He firmly closed his mouth, but Brian easily forced it open within seconds and then the part of the muzzle that was supposed go inside entered Castiel's mouth, filling it completely and pushing down his tongue.

Castiel let out an almost silent noise of protest as the device locked his jaw in place, and the leather straps attached to it were tightly secured around his head. Then the blade was removed from his neck, but it didn't help Castiel feel less anxious because it was clear what they were going to do.

They would do the exact same thing as they had done just a few hours ago, but he would be trapped somewhere in the bunker, and they wouldn't remove the handcuffs. But surely that would mean he would have a better chance at someone finding him, right?

Castiel didn't resist when Brian once again took a hold of the chain connecting the cuffs and started dragging him into the bunker, mostly because Castiel could feel the tip of Jeremy's angel blade poking into his back.

Castiel cast a sad look at the war room as they walked downstairs, but he wasn't given time to do much more than that as he was forced down the hallway. They didn't stop until they almost reached the end.

"You'll love this, angel," Jeremy said as Brian opened a door. Castiel's heart stopped for a few seconds as he scanned the room. There was just a single metal chair with cuffs and a collar attached to it in the middle of an angel trap, and the walls were covered in sigils. Just being forced to enter the room made his head spin.

Why had he not known that this room existed? Even if he hadn't come across it before, the Winchesters must have, right? So why hadn't they told him? Did they not trust him enough to tell him?

Hanging his head, Castiel pretty much let himself be pushed down into the chair with how much the sigils were draining him, and he was locked into it. He whimpered as the collar made the cut burn, for the first time thankful for the device holding his mouth closed, and soon enough he was immobilized as the cuffs around his wrists and ankles snapped closed, and the leather strip around his waist was tightened painfully.

Castiel knew fully well that he wouldn't get out of this on his own, but he also knew that these two humans wouldn't be the ones to set him free, so he didn't even bother opening his eyes and looking at them when Brian started talking.

"You'll stay here until our people are back home. I'll tell the Winchesters where you are afterwards."

Castiel wanted to protest. He wanted to help with all of that, but he could barely make an audible sound now. At least he knew he would be rescued eventually, but already it was hard for him to stay calm. His mind kept flashing back to his 'experiences' with Naomi, trapped in a chair like this.

Apparently that was everything Brian had wanted to say because then he was leaving. However, Jeremy didn't.

"You don't like it, being so powerless, huh?" Jeremy asked, but Castiel didn't bother looking up. A few seconds later, Castiel no longer had the option to look at the man because Jeremy started tying a piece of cloth over his eyes.

Castiel sighed through his nose. Since he didn't have the energy to keep his eyes open, he didn't really care. However, Jeremy had something more in mind.

Castiel tried to flinch away as Jeremy started to push something in his right ear, soon realizing it was an ear plug. Soon after, the left ear was plugged as well, and Castiel was rendered almost deaf. He could still make out that Jeremy was laughing at him, but that was about it.

Castiel's heart clenched painfully. It seemed taking away the control of his grace wasn't enough for Jeremy to make Castiel feel powerless. He unsuccessfully tried to jerk away when Jeremy patted his head, and then there was just the faint sound of the door slamming shut, leaving Castiel trapped, immobilized in silence and darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Castiel didn't know how long he'd been trapped here, but he'd long since started hallucinating. He wasn't sure if the sigils were responsible, or if it were just his near human state and isolation, but he wasn't sure how long he could take it.

Dozens of times now, he'd imagined Sam or Dean finding him. When they rescued him, Castiel's mind caught up with the fact that it wasn't real too early, and when the they left him trapped and mocked him, it lasted for way too long.

And every time it was as if he'd forgotten the previous hallucinations, so every time he believed he'd actually been found only to realize that he was still trapped in the dark, surrounded by that terrible silence. He never heard anyone walk past the door, but that was most likely because he could barely hear and the door was no doubt at least partly soundproof.

Suddenly, the faint sound of the door opening made Castiel flinch in surprise, but he quickly hung his head again. Just because he was lucid enough to think about whether this were real or not didn't mean that this wasn't just another hallucination.

However, when said hallucination started talking, Castiel started paying attention again. Was that…Jack's voice? Castiel couldn't make out what the Nephilim was saying, but it was definitely his voice.

This was confirmed when the blindfold was removed and, after a few seconds of rapid blinking, Castiel was looking up at the young man. Jack looked both worried and horrified, but he didn't say anything else until he removed the muzzle Castiel had almost stopped paying attention to.

The angel swallowed heavily, closing his eyes for a moment. "Are you…are you real?"

Jack didn't answer for a moment, but before Castiel could start coming to the conclusion that he wasn't being let out of here, the Nephilim spoke. Despite not being able to hear well, he could understand Jack well enough, especially since he could clearly see Jack's lip movements.

"Y-yes, I'm real. Are you okay, Castiel? We've been trying to find you for days."

 _Days_? While it was flattering that they had been looking for him, it also meant that Sam and Dean hadn't been focusing on the mission at hand, and Castiel hated that he was the cause of that.

"Jack, you…" Castiel had to force himself to keep his eyes open. The sigils had made him so tired. And he'd been here long enough to be sure that simply walking out of here would fix it. "You shouldn't stay…the sigils…"

Jack nodded. "I know. I'll go get Dean and Sam, okay?"

Castiel gave a weak nod, closing his eyes. He needed to get those ear plugs out. No, scratch that, he needed to get out of this damned room.

He must have fallen asleep again because suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, shaking his awake gently, and his eyes flew open. Dean was standing in front of him, looking angry, but Castiel could tell that anger wasn't aimed at him.

It was a little unsettling seeing Sam and Dean after all of those hallucinations, but Jack's presence in the background made all of it seem more real.

"Jesus, Cas, I can't believe you were right here the whole time," Dean said as he started undoing the cuffs. "Tell me who did this so I can kill them."

"Whoa, Dean, look at him," said Sam, who was undoing the cuffs on Castiel's ankles. "He's barely awake. Give the guy some time to recover."

Castiel didn't even have the energy to assure them that he was okay. He just managed a weak groan as he was pulled up, and then he suddenly woke up in…wait, was that Dean's room.

Castiel sat up on the bed, reaching up to finally pull the ear plugs out, but they weren't there anymore. His grace felt more or less recharged, which was probably why he'd woken up, but it didn't explain why he was in Dean's room.

He must have passed out right after being rescued. He hadn't thought he'd been that tired, but then again, he'd lost consciousness many times during the last few days. He still wasn't over that. He'd been trapped in that room for _days_. He'd have guessed twenty-four hours at most.

Five minutes later, the door to the room opened with a quiet click, interrupting Castiel's thoughts and revealing Dean. The hunter offered Castiel a relieved smile when he saw the angel was awake, and immediately went to hug him.

Castiel relaxed, pressing his face into Dean's shoulder and hugging back, enjoying the contact for as long as Dean allowed, which was four seconds.

"I was so worried, Cas." Dean shook his head, sitting down next to the angel. "We're getting rid of that room."

Castiel frowned. "Why have you never told me about it?"

Dean sighed, a look of guilt clear on his face. "We…didn't want to freak you out. But we though having a dungeon for angels could come in handy."

Castiel nodded, understanding the brothers' viewpoint, but still very glad he wouldn't have to live with the knowledge of that room in the bunker.

"You okay, Cas? They didn't…hurt you, right?"

Dean sounded angry again, but Castiel was too confused to assure him he was fine. "You know who is responsible? How?"

"After Jack found you," Dean started, and seeing Castiel's even more inquisitive look, explained further. "He said something about feeling your grace, or something. Anyway, after that, we figured someone in the bunker had to have done it. So we called everyone to the war room and asked. And one of those dicks admitted that he and the other douchebag did it. Bobby's…handling it."

So this whole ordeal was over with? Castiel was finding that a bit hard to believe, but he wasn't going to question it too much. He was just glad it was over.

"Why didn't you say anything, man?" Dean asked. "Those dicks had been bullying you for days before they locked you up, hadn't they?"

Castiel looked down, letting his shoulders slump in defeat. "I didn't want you to have to deal with my problems along with everything else."

"That's bullshit, Cas," Dean said softly. "You keep dealing with my shit, why can't I deal with yours?"

Castiel smiled slightly at Dean's selflessness. If he could go back, he still probably wouldn't tell Dean about this, but it was still nice to hear.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, making the angel look over at him again. "Why didn't you tell me about offing the other you back in apocalypse world?"

Castiel grimaced. He really didn't want to talk about this. He looked away before answering. "Our interaction was…brief. I met him and I killed him."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Dean asked, and Castiel huffed out a humorless laugh.

"No. It was a mercy, really. That Castiel had gone through so much reeducations that he was almost unrecognizable." Castiel shuddered inwardly at the memory of his other self.

"Wow. Heaven, man," muttered Dean. "You don't think you're similar, right? You weren't listening to those two sons of bitches?"

Castiel took a moment to respond. "We _are_ similar. In fact, I've probably done much worse than he ever did."

"The hell are you talking about?"

Castiel shot Dean a disbelieving look. The hunter knew exactly what Castiel was talking about, so he wouldn't even bother explaining that. "If nothing else, I decimated Heaven. I'm a member of an endangered species because of this. Because of me, there's only a handful of angels left."

Castiel almost expected Dean to joke about that being a good thing, but thankfully he didn't. He only asked: "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Heaven is powered by the angels' grace, and with so little of it, it's failing. And once it does, all the souls in Heaven with be released upon the Earth." Castiel looked back at Dean. "That's why I didn't tell you. We need to deal with Michael first."

Dean looked a bit shocked, but recovered quickly. "But you would have told me afterwards, right?"

"I'm not sure this is something you can help fix, Dean," Castiel said sadly, and Dean huffed.

"What did I just tell you? Your problems are our problem, alright? I don't care if you think I can't help you, I'll still try my hardest to do it."

Castiel smiled fondly at the hunter. Dean just wouldn't give up. "Okay, Dean."

"Great, glad we cleared that up. Now let's go kick Michael's ass."

* * *

 **I wrote this before the finale, so... Yeah, that didn't happen :D**


End file.
